Don't know why it took me so long to get this uploaded; this and another few scenes have already been written out. But at least this site is finally caught up again with my deviantArt account.
For now.

I own Kaly, Adheera, Denizen, Fahd, and Voalt (finally named, yay!)

Okay, I swear I've seen Adheera somewhere...

If I ever actually rewrite this into an original story, this chapter is one of few that will need heavy revising.
Unless I populate the "original" version with anthropomorphic animals, in which case that need merely depends on what species I use.

"Miss Kalyptos?"

Kaly looked up to see the olive-furred echidna at the door. "I thought everyone would be at the tavern to hear the story."

The echidna chuckled. "Those two have been telling the same tale for days, now." She shrugged. "They're...making it sound more exciting, but they haven't said anything new."

Kaly grunted and turned away. She inspected the egg, and wrapped it up in a blanket, before turning back to her other patients.

The mage's heart rate spiked. Kaly frowned, but when she tried to set a spell on him, she found her magic blocked.

"Miss Kalyptos?" the olive-furred echidna said again. "I know a little magic of my own. I was thinking that I might be able to help?"

Kaly snorted. "And if I learn anything new, you'd be the first to hear it?" she snapped.

The olive-furred female wilted. "I...was curious..."

Kaly shook her head. "I don't need stronger magics, girl. With a mage for a patient, I'd as soon use less." She blinked. "But I should not be quick to refuse an extra pair of hands. Especially not if those hands are attached to a head more sensible than the men, hah?"

"No, miss."

"So..." Kaly inclined her head at the olive-furred female.

"Adheera, miss."

"Adheera." Kaly rolled the name around in her mouth as though tasting it. "What do you know about healing?"

—

Adheera hurried through the muck to reach the tavern. "Captain Denizen!" she called out, once inside. "Captain Denizen, it's time!"

Denizen nodded, guzzled the rest of his grog, and followed the echidna back to Kaly's hut.

Inside, the platypus hovered over the egg. Nearby, two still figures were covered by a sheet.

Denizen stopped cold. "The parents?" he gasped.

Kaly shook her head. "My skills were not enough. They passed only minutes ago."

Adheera's gaze sharpened. "Ominous time for a birth," she muttered. She ignored the look Kaly gave her.

"Birth?" Denizen repeated. "Then the egg—"

"Will hatch," Kaly replied. "Within the hour."

Less than twenty minutes passed before the three heard the egg begin to crack. Kaly watched the egg carefully, and directed Adheera to fetch certain supplies from the shelves. Denizen fidgeted, torn between hovering over the egg and staying well out of the way of the two women.

And finally, the egg opened.

Kaly jerked back. "He's marked by the night demons!" she hissed, and drew her dagger.

—

"Denizen, you rotten cutthroat!" Kaly yelled from under the iguana's tail. "Let me up or I'll—"

"Or you'll what?" Denizen snarled. "Throw a cantrip at me?" He glanced at Adheera, but the echidna did not seem willing to fight. He returned his attention to the healer. "I could crush your throat before you breathed another word if you raise your blade again."

Kaly stilled. She could fight, if she must; she had the training.

But most of her magics were centered around healing. And she hadn't had the skill to heal the last three people who'd gotten Denizen this angry.

And she was drained. Trying to restore those two echidnas had been more taxing than it should have been. "Let me up," she said again, her voice shaking. "Please."

Denizen lifted his tail, and turned so that both women were in front of him, and the baby was on the edge of his vision.

"Denizen, he is demon-marked," Kaly insisted. "You cannot hope to control him; demons turn on their masters."

Denizen flinched at the words, so close to the councilor's own.

"What if we could tame him?" Adheera asked.

Kaly and Denizen blinked several times before staring at her. "Tame?" Kaly echoed.

"If he is demon spawn—"

"Nobody said he was their spawn," Denizen growled.

Adheera waved off the interruption. "Demon marked, then." She eyed the crescent mark on the baby's chest. "He is linked to their magics, yes?"

"Yes," Kaly replied. "Which is why he must be destroyed—"

"But don't you see? We can use that!" Adheera's eyes glittered. "We cannot control the demons, but he could." She hesitated. "With the proper training, of course."

"Of course," Denizen muttered.

Kaly frowned. "Impossible," she said. "I am a healer, Adheera, and no one else about has strong enough magics—"

"I have." Adheera's nervousness disappeared. She fetched one of Kaly's books and flipped through it until she found the page she wanted. "I don't have your magics, Kalyptos; I am no healer, but I am well versed in raising demons."

Kaly tried to argue, but Adheera stared her down, and the platypus lost her resolve in that gaze. Kaly opened her mouth to approve—

"No," a voice hissed.

Kaly blinked, startled out of her daze. She looked over to where Denizen cradled the child in his arms, sheltered from both women.

Adheera looked stunned. "He needs my training," she protested, fixing the iguana with her glare. "Else he will never be more than their tool, their weapon to strike whoever strays too close. You cannot protect something like that!"

"So you will make him your tool, instead?" Denizen laughed through his bared fangs. "No. My crew rescued his parents; I delivered the egg. I will take responsibility for him."

"You're not serious," Kaly said.

"I am," Denizen replied. "The demons will never have him."

"If you are so certain..." Kaly gestured at the pages Adheera had opened. She turned back to Denizen. "Name him, then."

"I—" Denizen hesitated. There was no choice. If the child was nameless, he was vulnerable. The demons could take him, in spite of the iguana's vow.

But names had power. Any name would bind the child to it, and to the one who named him. The boy could not escape being someone's tool.

"I cannot read demon script," Denizen said, to buy a little time. But the half-truth was loud in his ears. For a handful of letters, scattered across the page, had burned into his mind before he'd looked away. And once seen, they could not be unseen.

"Typical pirate," Kaly muttered. "Adheera—"

"Voalt," Denizen quickly said. Random letters, he reasoned. No meaning at all. Nothing to bind him. That should be safe...shouldn't it? He took a deep breath. "His name is Voalt."